Prepare For Worship
The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost - August 16, 2020
First Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6–8 (God’s house of prayer is for all people)
1Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
6“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—
7these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
8The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Epistle: Romans 11:1–2a, 13–15, 28–32 (God will have mercy on both Jew and Gentile.)
1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
13Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
28As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,
311so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.
32For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel: Matthew 15:21–28 (Jesus heals the daughter of a beseeching woman)
The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the fifteenth chapter.
Glory to You, O Lord.
21 Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
Resources
How wonderful to think that God has made His glory known even to us! Have you read through the entire Bible? Maybe this would be a great way to honor God in 2020.
CLICK HERE to start a personalized reading plan to complete the entire Bible in a year. It will be worth it, you will never be the same as God works through His Sacraments and His Word. Do you keep a spiritual journal that you use daily to record what God is communicating to you through His Word? Maybe it would be a good time to start this journey of discovery and listening.
Our Prayer
Let us pray. O Lord God, heavenly Father, by Your mercy, in the waters of Holy Baptism, You have made us each a part of Your Bride, the Church. Grant that, as Your Church, we humbly receive Your blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation through the gift of faith; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened…” Luke 2:3.